


Like A Palette Of Cold Colors

by HockeyDemigods



Series: New Waters [1]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF, Sports RPF
Genre: (both Auston and Mitch), 2025-2026 NHL Season, Anxiety Attacks, Auston is just too busy making up a perfect proposal plan, Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M, Misunderstandings, Not out publicly, POV Multiple, that he doesn’t notice Mitch thinking he’s avoiding him and hiding something bad from him, there is also an omniscient narrator explaining everything because these boys are unreliable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 04:10:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17717780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HockeyDemigods/pseuds/HockeyDemigods
Summary: After six and a half years of dating, Auston decides it’s finally time to propose to Mitch.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> important while reading:  
> • the horizontal line indicates POV change  
> • the omniscient narrator is always written in italics, just so you know when I switch to it too rapidly
> 
> also important:  
> • there are mentions of depression and suicide attempt further in the story, but I don’t think it’s serious enough to tag it 
> 
> • everything in this story is either made up or used from publicly known information that can be found on official and reliable websites. the only named characters I own are the twins, Abigail, Krista and Barry. also, of course that almost nothing about the situation in the Marner family is true and if it is, then it’s total coincidence that it appeared in this story
> 
> • of course, I also don’t recommend reading further if you have anything personally common with people in this story

_Their relationship is already iconic in the Maple Leafs franchise. Not that they’re out to the public, that’s a thing that NHL still isn’t ready for. But the entire team management knows about them, just like all of their teammates, the closest family members and a few of the PR people (so there isn’t chaos on the team just in case they’re outed without their will)._

 

_Many of their former teammates play with totally different people now, but they swore not to say anything to anybody without Auston’s and Mitch’s approvals. Talking about guys like Marty, Carrick, Gards, Willy or JVR, whom they trust completely, so it’s all fine._

 

_Their new youngest teammates are totally fine with both assistants of the captain being in gay relationship with each other and the actual captain fully supporting them (talking about Morgan). Of course, there are exceptions, but the younger the teammates are, the more easily they accept it. Maybe the NHL is really (but still terribly slowly) becoming a safe place for players of LGBT community, at least when it comes to opinions of the league's players themselves. But it, or mostly the media, surely still isn’t ready for having gay couple made of two whole-league superstars._

 

_Not that Auston is a gay, though._

 

_Well, he’s probably not even a bi._

 

_Not that he’s homophobic or afraid of being one, either. It just that he’s never felt any real attraction towards any other man than Mitch. (Years ago, Willy called him “Mitchexual” and the word hasn’t left his head since then.)_

 

_His “Mitchexuality” used to be quite a problem, though. During the first years of dating, Mitch had real problems with his own demons. And because he’s the only man that has ever got inside of Auston’s pants, he also felt like one day Auston would say “nope, I’m definitely 100% straight” and would break up with Mitch to go back to dating women._

 

_These Mitch’s confidence problems were a huge test for them, but in the end, Mitch realized what Auston had been truthfully telling him from the beginning: that he loves every inch of him and their relationship, regardless Mitch’s male body anatomy, which Auston hadn’t been used to before._

 

_Now, after more than than six and a half years of dating, he can’t imagine touching any other body than Mitch’s._

 

_Yes they are both 28 already, with strongly established relationship, but sometimes, Mitch’s insecurities and anxieties come back._

 

... ... ...

 

_The year is 2025. They have begun their ninth season together and by the time November comes, new Leafs players are already fully settled in and the rookies aren’t that scared of everything anymore. The team is winning. Everything fits and everyone is excited. Except for one guy._

 

_Mitch hasn’t been himself since the beginning of the training camp._

 

 _The last time his depression was at a self-destructive level was around five years ago, (when Auston missed four months of hockey with a heavy concussion), but Auston’s blood still runs cold every time he wakes up to take a piss during the night but finds the other side of the bed empty and_ then _finds Mitch sitting in the opened bathroom window. They live in a house now, not on the 40th floor in the downtown, but he still makes a concentrated effort to guide Mitch back to bed as gently as possible, fearing that he might get too scared and accidentally fall out of the window. Other times, Auston catches Mitch silently staring at a razor for too long. That’s also when Auston shakes his shoulder gently and brings him back to reality, which is actually full of people who love Mitch. That’s what Mitch needs the most in a moment like this: to be reminded that there is somebody to help him get out of his own head._

 

_All in all, Auston is used to Mitch’s moods and already knows pretty well how to handle them. So Auston isn’t very astonished when Mitch gets insecure about himself at the end of the summer, because he already knows how to deal with it. Actually, it makes sense to him that the start of the season is harder for Mitch - he won The Art Ross Trophy last season and he’s very aware of the pressure that is already being put on him to repeat that amazing 110-point season. Even the skilled players who are usually happy and cheerful, just like Mitch, have their own doubts when it comes to their own hockey, just like Mitch._

 

_Auston gets rid of his free time activities which don’t include Mitch to replace them with activities that include Mitch at all cost. Mitch just needs to get hockey out of his mind as much as possible and it helps him (and Auston too, let’s be honest) to just for example sit down and try to make own Halloween decorations. Of course they both suck at it, but they laugh a lot and that’s what matters._

 

 _But in December, Mitch is kind of forced by his mom to stay in Toronto for Christmas, which Mitch hasn’t done for a few years, mostly because of his father who still hasn’t dealt with Mitch visibly planning to spend the rest of his life with Auston, who is_ a man, a teammate. _Bonnie thinks that Paul has tried to change his mind and that Mitch really needs to meet him face-to-face again._

 

* * *

 

It’s weird coming back to Arizona without Mitch. It doesn’t feel right when he’s approaching the airport alone; too quiet and like leaving Mitch behind is a bad idea. True, besides Bonnie and Chris, he hasn’t seen any of his family members for quite a long time. But Mitch’s family from Paul’s side is mostly conservative and homophobic - that’s what Auston fears the most, because they never shut up about their political and moral opinions. And that isn’t very nice company to be around on Christmas for Mitch. No wonder that Mitch looked uneasy when he packed for his holiday visit at his parents’ house.

 

Despite the date being December 23th, the Pearson airport is not as full as Auston expected and his direct flight to Phoenix is delayed only twenty minutes. Not too long after that, he’s picked up by his dad and then greeted by his mom too when they finally arrive to the house Auston hasn’t been to since summer. His parents let him rest for a while and then he’s off to help with the last cooking and baking. Together with Christmas movies and catching up with his parents, early afternoon of the 24th comes quickly. That’s when he fully realizes that he hasn’t heard from Mitch since he left, only some plain texts but no calls. He knows him - if everything was okay, he would’ve at least texted him way more, even about random live blogging like how soaked he got when he cleaned the terrace off the snow.

 

In the evening, he knows his concerns about Mitch’s situation are becoming too obvious, as his mom frowns at him more and more. He just can’t stop looking at his phone every few minutes because he feels like he heard a message incoming, but it’s never Mitch.

 

“Seriously, why are you so nervous?”

 

“It’s just Mitch. He’s not answering my calls.”

 

“I’m sure he’s just busy. That amount of guests needs a lot of preparation,” Ema reasons, knowing everything about why Mitch didn’t come to Arizona this year.

 

“No, this isn't it. Whenever I try to call him, he just cancels it after a few beeps.”

 

Brey raises her eyebrows at him from the cook stove where she’s putting some last pepper into the soup. “Why he would want to avoid you? Have you fought or something?”

 

Auston sighs, tired and desperate. “No.”

 

Ema puts a sympathetic hand on his shoulder and guides him further into the kitchen. “Come on, let’s get everything ready for dinner. You need to stop stressing out and some work might help with that.”

 

… … …

 

Auston’s stomach is full and satisfied after dinner, so he’s comfortably settled on the couch, not even completely paying attention to the movie they’re watching.

 

But then, on the tea table, Auston’s phone lights up and he sees Mitch’s face and name on the screen (he can’t risk having him in the contacts with some pet name). He can see his dad jerk with shock caused by how quickly Auston almost jumps from the couch to get to his phone as quickly as possible. That gets laugh out of Brey but he _doesn’t care._

 

He’s answering the call even before he gets to a solid distance from the living room area.

 

“Mitchy?” he manages, his mouth already dry of tension.

 

“Uhh, hi Aus. Sorry I didn’t answer you before. I was quite… busy.”

 

Auston doesn’t like the way he’s struggling to choose the words.

 

“Are you okay?” he asks, because they know each other like that.

 

Mitch lets out a tiny laugh, full of hysterical desperation and no happiness. “I had a fight with my dad again.”

 

And that… surprises Auston way less than it should.

 

“What nonsense shit did he scold you for this time?”

 

Mitch is silent for a few moments but then starts.

 

“He wanted to have a little private talk with me on the terrace, so yeah I agreed because I actually hoped that we can finally be in peace with each other again, that he maybe _finally_ decided to somehow accept us. But then he- he… said that he… Okay, long father monologue short: he thinks I’m not paying enough attention to hockey and that it’s your fault because you’re taking all my time and distracting me. Some talk with mom made him believe this.”

 

“But… Wasn’t this in the first half of the season when your, you know, your head started to mess up with you again?” Auston asks carefully, hating to come back to that.

 

“I think the exact same thing! I’m sure he doesn’t even know what was _really_ wrong with me.”

 

“As if he cared about your mental health at all,” Auston asks with a bit clenched teeth. He got absolutely allergic of Paul calling Mitch weak a really long time ago.

 

“Yeah,” Mitch sighs sadly, but continues right after. “So I tried to talk him out of it but then he raised his voice more and more… until it got the attention of my cousin and aunt, who were in the garden. I noticed it and warned dad that he just _must not_ talk about our relationship in front of people who _don’t know_.  That made him even more angry. And I quote ‘It doesn’t even matter, because your love story is going to end when your current contracts expire,’” Mitch pauses, probably to add a bit more drama to it and it works because Auston can feel himself heating up, like an angry bull.

 

“It went downhill from there. My fourteen years old cousin came to ask what love story and dad looked like he was about to truthfully explain, with _full_ seriousness. You can imagine the cold sweat that ran down my body in that moment. I tried to shut him up, but my aunt and then even dad’s brother, who came _out of nowhere_ , defended him by saying that I should keep no secrets from my family. I grumbled something like ‘it’s best to keep all the secrets away from people like you’. Of course, they heard it and got offended. Not long after that, I was dared to leave this family then, if I so love being fake in front of them. My aunt had no idea I would take it seriously, so I took my phone and jacket and left the house.”

 

“Marns, what the fuck. That’s so fucked up, I mean, who even is so careless about-”

 

“Yeah, I know Aus. But I feel like I overreacted…” Mitch confesses as a dot to everything, seeming so unsure about himself.

 

“That’s fine, though. You talked about it after, right? Everything is good now, isn’t it?” Auston asks hopefully.

 

“Uhm, well. Not-not exactly,” Mitch says slowly and quiet.

 

“What happened, then?”Auston presses, still careful.

 

“I- haven't come back since then? I'm at our house now.”

 

“Wait, when the fight happened?”

 

“At around 4pm? Yeah, about that.”

 

Auston frowns and thinks for a bit. Looks at their clock on the wall. Calculates quickly.

 

“Mitch. Does this mean you missed the Christmas Eve dinner?”

 

“Kind of?”

 

“Marns…”Auston sighs, pitying Mitch. Regretting he left Canada without him. “I knew I shouldn't have let you go there. They made your Christmas so shitty.”

 

“Not really. I mean- listen. After I left, Abby texted me that the entire house is arguing and in a fight about what happened. Even though there was mom and Chris who tried to defend me, I didn’t feel like coming back, at least not in the middle of all of that. So Abby just quietly packed my things and put them to the back door so I could come and get it before being spotted. She said that she rather chose to not pick any side and ignored all of them involved in the fight but at least she showed big sympathy to me.”

 

* * *

 

_Uhm, yeah, Abby (or Abigail) is one of the biggest reasons why Auston and Mitch can consider their relationship privacy relatively safe. Abby is one of Mitch’s cousins from Paul’s side and her dad is one of the most homophobic members of the entire family which sucks because she’s a lesbian. So some years ago, the three have mastered up a plan: Abby and Auston would pretend they’re dating so nobody suspects anything and both of them are safe from their lives making an unexpected unpleasant turn by being outed. Abby is very beautiful and awfully (perfect for their plan) straight looking and enjoys formal events like the Awards in Vegas, so it’s a good deal for her, too. There have been some tweets about their relationship being “mysterious” but they’re official and Auston even sometimes (a few times a year) posts a very fake but well acted photos of them kissing on New Year’s or at either of their birthdays. They’re not very active on social media, Abby having her accounts strictly private, but Auston regularly mentions her in some interviews as his girlfriend, so it’s really enough._

 

* * *

  


“Oh yeah, poor girl. I hope she won’t be attacked like you,” Auston wishes honestly, but she isn’t what he wants to talk about. “But- what are you doing _now_? What even do you want to do? You can’t stay alone.”

 

“Yeah, that’s why I called you in the first place,”Mitch admits and sounds shy.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Listen, I know it’s late and I’ll interrupt your Christmas bliss and eat more food than you’ve made but… Can I come over? To Arizona?”

 

Auston is nodding and answering even before Mitch finishes. “Are you fucking kidding me? Of course you can, oh my God. Everybody will be so glad to have you here.”

 

“Tell him we’re saying the same!” Brian shouts from the living room and Auston startles a bit at how loud his dad is. He looks to the living room and the TV is muted; of course they have been listening to their conversation all along. This doesn’t even surprise him, so he just comes back to talking with Mitch.

 

“My parents approve,” he reassures him and if they talked face to face, Auston is sure he would see Mitch smile shyly and blushing now.

 

“Okay, I’m gonna jump on the earliest plane.”

 

Then, it dawns on him. “Actually, no. That’s bullshit. I won’t let you travel all the way alone. I’ll come to get you.”

 

He can hear Mitch inhale sharply, clearly surprised. “But Aus. No. It’s Christmas and airports are terrible now and you’re supposed to be with your family and-”

 

“Mitchell. You’re my family too. Plus: you don’t know where I hid my Christmas gifts for you and I’m sure you wouldn’t be able to find them on your own even if I guided you.”

 

Auston can see the sassy roll of Mitch’s eyes even from almost two thousand miles away. “Okay, stubborn. If you insist _that much_.”

 

It might be totally sappy and teenager-level silly, but he books his flight ticket in literally seven minutes after they end the call.

 

… … …

 

When was Auston flying to Arizona, weather was great and sky was clear most of the time. But it starts snowing heavily under them when the plane is somewhere above Iowa. They land in Toronto almost exactly on expected time and he would be surprised about how colder it has gotten in Toronto while he was in Arizona but he's in a big hurry so the overuse of his muscles heats him up. The Toronto traffic is shit, as always and it's even worse now when they live quite far away from the downtown. But still, the delay caused by traffic is nothing tragic.

 

It was surely raining and then freezing here because Auston almost gets killed when he enters the estate of their house.

 

Their house itself is on top of a small hill, with rock path that is super slippery if it’s freezing and you’re wearing flat shoes. Which, well, both is happening right now, because Auston is an idiot and forgot to check the weather forecast which surely said it obviously rained and then it all froze during the day.

 

Even as he’s cursing like crazy, he still loves this house and wouldn’t sell it. For years, old pal Patty Marleau lived here with his family, but when he retired and they decided to move back to San Jose, Mitch and Auston bought the house from them. It’s big, in a good area, it has an ice rink, a pool and a jacuzzi and especially: it looks like from California, which somehow reminds Auston of his home in that southern US way. It radiates warm vibes.

 

There's loud barking and due to the darkness outside he can only barely see where their dog comes from to greet him.

 

It’s an older doberman of greyish-brownish fur with one eye completely blind. Mitch insisted on his name in the dog’s veterinary card being _Baryonyx,_ because it was one of his favorite Dinosaurs during his childhood and its name “sounds tough” and the dog has abnormally long nose, just like the Dinosaur had, but everybody just calls the dog “Barry”. Yes, Mitch is still nerdy and ridiculous, but Barry’s nose really _is_ longer than other dobermans’, so Auston gives him that.

 

“Hi boy, glad to see you,” Auston says caressingly and uses both of his hands to scratch behind Barry's head and ears.

 

“Let's get inside, okay?” he finishes their greeting with a double-tap on the top of the dog's head.

 

He finds Mitch in the kitchen. He's sitting on the island, a bottle of whiskey next to him, a half full glass in his hand.

 

Auston’s stomach flutters at how Mitch lights up when he sees him. “Hi,” Mitch says simply and would probably jump down if Auston didn't close the distance between them and hug him as a greeting.

 

“Hi to you too,” says Auston and kisses one of the Mitch's cheek. “What is this? You're never this scared of flying.”

 

Mitch looks at his glass of whiskey, takes another sip and then closes the bottle. “Just frustrated about my family. I hoped that at least mom would call me to apologize for dad and aunt. None of that happened. I guess I just needed to loosen up a bit.”

 

He offers Auston a sad closed smile. Auston believes him so he hugs him again and this time doesn't pull back. “That's fine, babe. But now I'm here. Your other family can't wait to see you again.”

 

“Thank you for taking me in again. I don't know what I would do without your parents on holidays like this,” Mitch mumbles against Auston’s hoodie which is under unzipped jacket. His heart would clench really hard at this a few years ago, but now they're used to how Mitch's family is. It's just a sad fact now.

 

They stay like this for a few more moments but they're in quite a hurry.

 

“Have you packed everything you need to take to Arizona?”

 

Mitch just nods.

 

“Okay, so we should go then. Our plane back is-”

 

“Yes, departing in only a few hours, I _know_.”

 

“Fine, then. Let me just get the presents.”

 

At that, both of them start moving around the house, each into different rooms and floors. Barry seems conflicted about who should he follow so he's just going from Mitch to Auston and then back to Mitch. After not long, his old cardiovascular system makes him tired, so he lays on the floor in the entry hall. He is visibly sad that they two are leaving, but Mitch is willing to let him here when he makes sure their dog walkers (two students at U of T who are trying to pay for their doctorate on their own so they're doing a lot of side jobs and with many other dogs too - Mitch and Auston pay them the most, of course) are still to come here tomorrow.

 

They make it back to the airport with time to spare. Their flight seems to be not delayed yet but Mitch gets a bit concerned when they talk to a middle-aged couple who are waiting for their daughter to come from Chicago but her plane is only halfway to Toronto when it was supposed to land here an hour ago already. This time, they're not taking a direct flight but have to take another plane, _in Chicago._ Mitch checks the weather forecast for Chicago and he finds out it has started snowing heavily, wind even worse.

 

Flight _to_ Chicago is actually fine because the weather isn't _that_ bad yet, but they get stuck at the huge international airport in Chicago. It's already the early morning and they've moved one time zone already which makes Auston tired so he gets a bit more grumpy. Their plane is supposed to leave in less than an hour but it doesn't look like it's going to happen that soon. The airport is getting overcrowded and people laying on the floor are complaining about some of the flights being canceled, not even delayed.

 

Mitch is grumpy too, possibly more than Auston, which is very uncharacteristic of him.

 

“What's wrong? It's not _that_ bad with the flights.”

 

“I hate that you're here with me,” Mitch says quietly and looks down at his feet.

 

“Uhm- what…”

 

“You should be with your parents now. Being chirped by your sister and overeating and watching those terrible silly movies and playing mini sticks with Alex's little kid and having enough sleep, not wasting your time here with me- I should have never let you go her-”Mitch is getting into a panic attack by the time he ends. He's breathing heavier.

 

Auston grabs both of his hands with his and runs circles on Mitch's palm. “No. Stop saying this. I wouldn't even enjoy myself if I was home right now. I would feel miserable about not being with you when I could. That's why I decided to be here.”

 

“But your family is going to be mad at me. And you're mad too.”

 

“No, no. I'm not mad at you, you should've known that already. I'm mad at this stupid weather. And if _you_ weren't here, I would be even more grumpy,” Auston reassures him with complete honesty. “And the family thing? They actually helped me to pack some food while I was changing clothes so I wouldn't miss the flight to Toronto. Besides…”

 

Mitch straightens up a bit, waiting for what's there left for Auston to say. Auston lowers his voice a bit then, half for the effect, half for the fear of having some hockey fans around who might hear and recognize them.

 

“ _You_ are my closest family.”

 

And honestly, Auston wants to cry of bliss when he sees the way Mitch smiles up at him.

 

“You're mine too.”

 

“I love you. So much,” Auston whispers and fuck it, he can't resist tugging Mitch against himself, awfully close to having Mitch sit on his lap. Good thing that there are so many people around that he can't see almost anything, the surface of floor included.

 

“I love you too. You have no idea how much.”

 

And honestly? Auston couldn't be happier right now. It seems crazy, because he's sitting at a huge airport which is so overcrowded that there is almost no oxygen left and because he is this far away from warmth of any of his homes.

 

But- no. That's wrong.

 

Because this is definitely the warmth of home. Having Mitch leaning against him, nuzzling his nose against the soft fabric of Auston’s hoodie.

 

 _Mitch is definitely the element that is making any place feel like home if he's there with me,_ he thinks and he stops petting Mitch's back because this is definitely something new.

 

He also realizes that he can't imagine his life with Mitch in it. That's not that new but… even though they've been dating for six years and a few months (their seventh anniversary is in June) and they already are a family, and belong to each other, they finally should make it official. By becoming husbands.

 

 _Yeah, I'm finally gonna do it,_ he thinks. _I have to. That's what Mitch deserved years ago. This already feels ridiculously late_

 

So yeah, there, at Chicago's airport in the early morning hours of December 25th,  Auston Matthews realizes that after more than six and a half years of dating, he's going to plan to finally propose to Mitch Marner.  


* * *

 

 _Ema wakes up to the front door to their house being shut closed probably too loudly. It must be the boys. She notices it's already bright outside and then sits up to look at the clock, it's almost 9am. She doesn't try to fall asleep again, rather goes downstairs to drink a glass of water and maybe prepare breakfast if she feels like it. But she's absolutely delighted when she passes the living room and sees Auston and Mitch curled against each other on the couch and sleeping like they're dead. They didn't even take off their shoes but at least put their thick jackets away. All their bags are on the floor too - they clearly crashed on the couch right after they came home._ Those poor boys probably didn't even sleep during the night, _she thinks and regrets not taking her phone with her because they're so cute like this that it feels like e a sin not to take a photo of them._


	2. Chapter 2

Auston does everything he can do all the December 25th to be separated from Mitch without it being suspicious. When he woke up, he still felt the same excitement about deciding to finally propose to Mitch as he felt at that terrible airport. The thing is that he's never done this thing before - he doesn't even know how are male engagement rings supposed to look like. Auston might be dumb about many practical life things but he knows he can't give Mitch a ring for a woman. He also can't give him the first ring he sees at some jewelry website that is able to filter the rings to show male rings only. 

 

He isn't even 100% sure about how serious might Mitch be about engaging. Sure, he made it clear a long time ago that he won't be the one proposing and that he wants kids one day but they haven't talked about marriage since their fifth anniversary. Since about then, they've both (and friends too) just got used to the fact that they would be that kind of couple who spends maybe even fifteen years dating before suddenly getting married. 

 

What is he 100% sure about, though, is that Mitch deserves to have Auston invest some serious time and effort into this proposal thing - both ring and setting question. 

 

His eyes lay on some blue rings. This is where he should start because when he thinks about it, blue is a color that definitely  _ needs  _ to be on the ring, even dominate. Mitch's eyes affect Auston this much. 

 

“Hey! Hurry up!”Brey shouts and slams her fist on the door. 

 

Oh yeah, he's sitting on the only toilet in the house, his metabolic urge solved  _ long _ time ago. Now he's just using this precious alone time which unfortunately isn't as long as he wanted to be. 

 

“Your bladder won't explode if you wait a few more minutes!” he shouts back. 

 

“It will and then you're responsible for my torturous slow dying of internal intoxication!”

 

Auston rolls his eyes and locks the screen on his phone. “Fine.” 

 

“Happy?” he asks when he opens the door and lets Brey in.

 

“Very.”

 

It's both curse and domestic bliss when Mitch wants cuddles all day. Auston finally had some first idea about the ring and now he can't even develop it because Mitch is right next to him almost all the time. The only exception is when he goes to take a shower (even then Mitch asked Auston to go with him). He doesn't spend this precious alone time continuing to look for a ring, though. Rather he approaches his parents. 

 

“Uhm, dad?” he waits for him to process he's being talked to. “Can't you occupy Mitch for a bit?”

 

Brian huffs out a laugh. “Too tired of him already?” He's being ironical, they both know it, so Auston just decides to explain right away, but it takes him a second longer than necessary which Ema finds suspicious immediately. 

 

“Come on, what's up with you two?”

 

“Nothing, I just- would be glad if we managed to keep Mitch from me for a while,” he pauses to talk more quiet now. “I'm looking for an engagement ring for him and I think that a bit more searching will be enough to find the perfect one.”

 

His parents look at each other with such proud and satisfied smiles that Auston would blush if he wasn't already. 

 

“So you  _ finally, fi-na-lly,  _ decided to propose??” Ema asks, probably too loud.

 

“No- yes, I mean. Be  _ quiet _ , he might step out of bathroom anytime.”

 

“Oh yeah sure, I'm sorry. So when is this going to happen?”

 

Auston goes still at that. “Ehm, I don't know. I got the idea of this only yesterday. Maybe during or before the Bye Week. Depends on how will everything turn out, time wise.”

 

“Good for you, son. You should have done this already, though,” Brian says and pats Auston on the shoulder. 

 

“I know, okay? But now I really need you to help me,” Auston says a bit sassy and probably too impatient. 

 

Both of his parents finally seem to take his request seriously. After not very long, Brian speaks up. 

 

“I may take Mitch with me to the train station,” Brian wonders and Auston immediately thinks that it fits. 

 

Ema's parents are supposed to come here and spend a few days in Arizona. And they need to get picked up. 

 

“Yeah, that sounds great,” Auston admits with a smile, relieved. 

 

When Brian tells Mitch he's going with him, Mitch isn't even surprised or doesn’t even ask if it wouldn't be better if Auston came instead. That's how much he belongs to this family already. 

 

This little trip doesn't help Auston at all. He realizes that no matter how many blueish rings, more or less blue, he looks at, none of them seem perfect or even preferable for Mitch. 

 

“Mooom, I didn't know it was so hard,” Auston whines dramatically when he already gave up looking for ring for that day.

 

Ema smiles kind of malevolently. “Yeah, being adult is hard.”

 

“Ugh, at least I'm not the only one of us two who buys chocolate for the Valentine's,” Auston mumbles and Ema laughs without any shame.

 

Auston isn't even pissed at her because he should've expected this coming the moment Mitch straightforwardly told him that proposing wouldn't be a thing he will come up with. 

 

… … …

 

Already back in Toronto, Mitch and Auston invite the entire team to their house for the first meeting in the new year. Almost everybody actually comes, except for Tim Liljegren whose wife is going to give birth tonight and Mo and his entire family that is taking too long to come back from Vancouver. 

 

The house would be way more crowded than it is right now if maybe a third of all guests hadn't gone out to play in snow and play hockey at their rink in the garden. Mitch is one of them - currently he's in the middle of a match between the rookies and the twins who put him in the net because “It's not fair when you play as a forward! We don't have a chance to prevent you from scoring.” 

 

* * *

 

_ Oh yeah, the twins. _

 

_ They were 18 and rookies in the 2018-2019 season. They’re defensemen from France and their names are Quentin and Valentin Chavalier. When they came to the team, they became the kings of fashion immediately. French influence was very visible. Also, from the beginning they’ve been friends with everybody, especially Mitch because in some ways they’re similar to him.  _

 

_ Quentin, the 10 minutes older one, is a bit crazier and more outgoing than the other one, always shows how much he enjoys the interest of women. But actually, he’s a real softie with way bigger heart than you might think at the first sight. He will also probably be a forever bachelor, because at age of 25 he still hasn’t really dated someone.  _

 

_ Valentin, on the other hand, is way calmer and more mature. He’s also a part of You Can Play organisation and is very interested in politics of European Union. He’s on side of the liberal parties. A huge reason behind this might be that he’s openly a pansexual and has been dating Sage, a trans boy, since he came to play in Toronto. Their relationship is also official and out to public. It caused some drama at the beginning, but he’s never been a league star, so media didn’t care that much. But still, the entire team, especially Mitch and Auston, are very wowed by how brave Val and Sage have been, not fearing homophobia and hate.  _

 

_ The twins are such an inseparable defensive pair that they would be considered the next Sedins if they were forwards and were a bit better at hockey.  _

 

_ Overall, they are very liked and on top of everything, also very handsome. _

 

* * *

  
  


Auston takes this as an opportunity to take the final step of ring choosing: which metal. Then he can finally concentrate on when and how to propose. 

 

He's selected two final rings. Both of them have a blue stone, one of them is topaz and other one is sapphire. They're quite similar - the stones are almost the same size, almost identical square shape and the rings themselves are both quite thick. . The only big difference is the metal they're made of because the topaz one is gold which creates beautiful soft combination of warm and cold colors and the sapphire one is pure cold silver. 

 

“Hey, Fred,” Auston says to Freddie who is currently sitting on the other armchair, looking down at his phone.

 

“Hm?” he asks, not even bothering to look up.

 

“Gold or silver?” Auston asks simply, thinking that Freddie won’t ask further, just answer honestly. Auston would appreciate this totally objective push because he really has no idea which ring is better.

 

He looks up to nowhere, as if he is calculating and then looks back down at his phone. “Silver.”

 

Auston hmms because yeah, the silver one is very beautiful. Not that Freddie knows why is he asking him this, though. 

 

“Why did you ask?” Freddie says, out of nowhere and he’s seriously looking at Auston now, quite curious.

 

He can tell Freddie the truth, he knows, because he’s not that kind of person to overshare or talk about somebody else’s secret. But there are too many ears around. Well, they seem to be too enthusiastic with their own debates to be listening to some stuff Auston and Freddie are mumbling to each other about , so he tries.

 

“I just can’t decide between two engagement rings.”

 

He tried to be quiet enough but it’s all ruined when Freddie lights up and almost yells without thinking about it, a thing extremely uncharacteristic of him. “You are proposing?!”

 

Auston doesn’t even have time to scold him for being that loud because Kappy obviously heard them and immediately shouts for the entire room to hear. “Did you guys hear that?! Matts is gonna propose to Mitch!”

 

He doesn’t even try to deny it, just leans his head against his hand, massaging the temple. He knows what is going to come next. 

 

The room gets silent and then erupts in loud celebrations basically right after. 

 

There are heavy pats and shakes on both of his shoulders, Kappy even  _ hugs  _ him. 

 

Auston doesn't even have the nerves to pretend annoyance anymore - he actually likes how caring his teammates are. How sad they would be if the two broke up or something else seemingly impossible right now. 

 

After some unoriginal and very weak chirps like “Fucking finally, Matts” or “You're so slow it's not even funny” or “You should be lucky Mitch haven't found somebody faster yet” Freddie gets bored and jumps back to the topic that caused all of this. 

 

“Hey, listen, kids. This is actually quite an emergency. Aus sounded like he has problems deciding between two types of rings.”

 

Honestly, Auston would shove him down to the floor if Freddie didn't have authority of a captain and weren't so strong that it would hurt if he decided to take revenge on Auston one day. Because okay, he loves his teammates, but he didn't want to discuss  _ this  _ with them. And he knows that there's no way back from this now since his teammates are stubborn and too insistent, so trying to change subject wouldn't be worthy. Instead, he hopes, and knows he's naive by so, that at least one of these idiots might help him. 

 

“Yeah,” he admits simply and explains while unlocking his phone, “I can't decide between those two metals.”

 

He holds his phone out for them to see those two final rings and he's not surprised when someone grabs the phone for himself and turns to the middle of the crowd for everybody else to see. 

 

They are not loud but it's obvious that they're really invested in their debate, murmuring to each other which ring is better than the other in which category and aspect. While they're talking, Auston turns to look at Freddie who's sitting in the same position. 

 

“I think I could handle this without  _ their  _ help.”

 

“No, you couldn't,” he answers with that terrible cocky side grin of his, as if implying “because you're an clueless disaster” which Auston can't even argue against because compared to Freddie, he's always been the less mature one. 

 

“Matts?” someone from the crowd shouts, Auston not even sure whose voice it is - that's how unclear it sounds coming from behind all the bodies. 

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Come here!”

 

“Why don't you  _ all  _ come here? There are huge empty pieces of furniture in this living room you can sit on.”

 

Then, they realize it's really a better idea to sit down, so they do. 

 

“I just wanted to say…” Hymie starts, still with Auston’s phone in his hand. “That even though both of those rings are beautiful, it wouldn't be a good idea to actually buy any of them.”

 

Auston tenses at it for a bit. “Why?”

 

“ _ Because,  _ Matthews, oh my god,” Zach's wife says. “You made poor Mitchy wait for almost seven years. No matter how expensive his ring will be, it  _ can't  _ be something ordinary and already designed by some shop.”

 

“What do you mean?” Brownie asks. 

 

Zach hands Auston his phone back and smiles at him supportive. “Your literally only option here is to get make a custom ring for him. It has to scream ‘Mitch’ in every sense. That's what already made rings can't do. That's also what only  _ you  _ can do because nobody knows him as much as you do.”

 

And… you know when Auston thought his teammates wouldn't be helpful at all? He feels like this is actually a very good idea and also says so. But then, it immediately hits him: “But what if I choose some wrong design that won't fit Mitch?”

 

“Look. Even if it didn't fit perfectly, Mitch will totally love it. Just try it.”

 

“I think this - and  _ Mitch  _ \- is worth the effort and try.”

 

“Yeah, you're right…” Auston admits, too small and unsure and Zach pats him on the knee reassuringly. 

 

“Let me show you the website I made the ring for Al at,” he calls and his idea of the plan of upcoming activities for the entire house is getting very approved.

 

But then there is quite a distant “Wow, what a good mood here,” Mitch calling as he enters the room. He's sweaty, his hair a mess and he's still in his soft shell sports jacket. Auston is very charmed. 

 

* * *

 

Because Mitch allowed too many goals in, and his team lost, he got the role of brining tea, punch and hot chocolate to everybody playing hockey, the teammates’ children included. One of the rookies offers to help - trying to impress the star of his team with his goodwill and unselfishness. 

 

Their house is designed in quite a weird way where even though it's huge, it still has kitchen, living room and dining room indirectly connected all together. So when they two enter the house from the backyard door, he passes around the living room which is crowded and loud. 

 

He hides it but his happiness definitely wears off when he realizes the entire living room gets silent the second they realize he's there, too. 

 

Mitch isn't often paranoid but this is definitely suspicious. Of course he won't ask about it, though.

 

* * *

  
  


They're having breakfast more than a week later, both of them messing around on their phones, when Auston notices the date on the panel - January the 12th. It bolts him upright from where he's slouching very low above the table. Mitch only raises a judging eyebrow.

 

How he could  _ almost  _ forget, god dammit - it's Krista's birthday.

 

She's almost certainly awake, but fortunately not at work already because it's too soon for that and she enters her office at 9:30am. Auston wants to do everything he can to call her before she leaves. She's very strict about not answering any personal calls during work and she would chirp him endlessly if he congratulated her in the evening. So, yeah - he has to call her now. 

 

He explains the entire issue to Mitch and then asks “Shall I tell her you say hi, too?”

 

“Mhm, yeah sure,” he shrugs like it's not a big deal at all - which is really not, Mitch is friendly with her. 

 

Auston knows that if Krista will be able to talk a bit longer, he will definitely mention his engagement plan and that's a thing Mitch obviously can't hear about. So Auston makes up that he's going to call her while unpacking those huge new products he got from his sponsors recently and tells Mitch so. It's not a lie - he's going to at least  _ start  _ with it but he would definitely let them stay untouched if he didn't need to get away from Mitch for a bit.

 

* * *

  
  


_ The thing with Krista is that a few years ago, Mitch wasn’t the only one with ruined mental health. Actually, his bad one and Auston’s bad one were both connected to each other. _

 

_ One of their biggest relationship crisis happened not long after Auston received that terrible hit which caused the mentioned heavy concussion. He wasn’t dealing with it the ideal way, and with total coincidence, Mitch’s self-love was really low then, too, so he needed Auston’s comfort. Unfortunately, he couldn’t manage to give Mitch what he needed. His head hurt and he didn’t feel like himself at all. He even made Mitch stay at his parents’ house for a while because Mitch was just too much for him at that time. Which was a terrible thing to do, he knows now. And it almost ended fatally because without Auston really realizing, Mitch took this terribly wrong and the time they were seperated was the worst time of Mitch’s entire life. It still sends shivers down Auston’s spine when he remembers the way Mitch firstly talked about this. _

 

_ Mitch tried to take his own life at his parents’ house when he was alone.  _

 

_ Auston has been thanking every spirit and godly creature for making him so lucky that he tried to visit Mitch in the perfect time to call him an ambulance just in time.  _

 

_ He will never get the image of a barely conscious Mitch laying on a stretcher from his head, neither the way water was just pouring from Mitch’s mouth as Auston pulled him out of the bathtub, already passed out.  _

 

_ For the next year, Mitch was meeting a psychiatrist once a week. And fortunately, it’s been only better since that terrible day. _

 

_ Auston also needed some help. He felt so incredibly guilty and shitty about kicking Mitch out like that and causing…. that, that for the first time in his life he took action and alone got himself a therapist too. Her name was Krista and although she didn’t work with Mitch too, they, somehow, managed to establish and balance Mitch’s and Auston’s relationship the way it should had been already. Auston learnt to talk about his emotions like a normal opened person and Mitch finally (thank goodness, it took him ages) fully realized he has many people around him who love him enough to help him out of his own head. _

 

_ Even though Auston doesn’t need therapy sessions anymore, he’s still in touch with Krista - they even consider each other friends since she is only eight years older and she’s weird enough, in that doctor way, that it was easy for both Mitch and Auston to start to like her very fast. _

 

* * *

  
  


As he finds out after he congratulates her, Krista has a rare day off today, so nothing stops them from catching up like old friends. They talk about their families and their recent work activities for quite a long time but their conversation turns a different way when Krista says “Auston, this all sounds amazing. But how are you? You've been playing amazing but I just want to make sure.”

 

And he knows that he can stay silent for a bit longer than in conversations with his friends, so he really thinks through what to say without sounding pathetic or overreacting. 

 

“Uhm, well. I want to propose to Mitch and it's not going as smoothly as I expected.”

 

Because even though he's not her client anymore, she's still a professional and not any of his friends, so it doesn't really surprise Auston when she just goes with the wave. “What is not going well?”

 

“Basically everything,” he laughs humorlessly, “I mean - I have already chosen a ring, but it took me ages despite having no upper limit for the price. It's just that even when I had an idea, I had to get away from Mitch first. I did not know it would be this  _ hard  _ to hide things from him. I just… want this to be over already. Of course I can't wait to the point when we're finally officially engaged, it's just that the process is a bit more difficult than I expected.”

 

“No worries, you'll be fine. You're just not used to solving these quite life changing issues. Even when you'll be adopting your first child you will be freaking out a bit, too but that is completely normal because it means you  _ care _ .”

 

“But what about my feeling of guilt?”

 

“It's necessary with the way you two are unitary and bonded. Look. Like I said, it means that you actually subconsciously care about Mitch. I don't know how else to prove you that you are not evil, or whatever,” she pauses then, probably for the effect. 

 

And then adds: “But you rather make this quick. You know how insecure can he be sometimes and making him realize that you're hiding something from him won't help.” 

 

“Yeah, I know. But actually, I think that he hasn't suspected anything yet.” 

 

“Oh, good then. I hope you're reading this right. Is there anything else that's bugging you?”

 

“Hmm, well - not really.” 

 

“Are you sure?” Krista asks slowly and carefully. 

 

It feels pathetic and embarrassing the second he says it out loud. “It's just that I think I made up a really good way of proposing but I have never seen it anywhere before and even though I haven't told anybody about it I feel like it's silly.”

 

“Come on, I'm sure it's not. Tell me,” she lures gently. 

 

He sighs and decides to go for it, because she definitely won't laugh at him. “I was thinking about making him go away from our house for a few hours and when he comes back home, there will be many together photos of us hanging from the ceiling, possibly from some not much disruptive balloons, preferably small and flat ones. I don't even know why I thought this would be a good idea - I just think that we've known each other for so long that this would make up also for some kind of recapitulation of our friendship and love life so far? I just simply don't want to just drop on one knee in front of him at beach or something. He doesn't deserve  _ that  _ much cliché,” he's babbling by the end, he knows. But he really does have mixed feeling about his own plan. 

 

“ _ Awww,  _ Auston,” Krista says eventually and Auston smiles with a huge relief because her walls of professional seriousness have broken. 

 

“What?” he asks, sure that he's wearing a dumb smile. 

 

“I didn't know you could be  _ this  _ sweet, Auston Matthews.”

 

“So, what do you think?”

 

“I think that Mitch will absolutely love it. And if I was him and you did such a big effort in this, I would fall in love with you even more,” she confesses, implying to the fact that her ex-husband was an asshole who didn't treat her the way she deserves and therefore she didn't experience much romance with him. 

 

Auston doesn't even really knows what to say about that. He just knows that he's glad to have Krista in his life because he definitely feels more confident about this.

 

* * *

  
  


Mitch's morning was great (firstly a really good sex right after they woke up and then great breakfast) until he turned his phone on and noticed Abby's emergency messages. 

 

Abby's parents found out she is lesbian and they fought so hard they kicked her out the house. So far it doesn't look like she's coming back and she's so desperate that she and her girlfriend (who she is staying at) might go back to Europe when her girlfriend's exchange program runs out. She comes from France and Abby can speak French, so it doesn't have to be such a big problem to get used to new life as it objectively seems. 

 

_ don't tell anybody yet pls. it's still nothing official  _ s

he messaged him. 

 

But he's worried. A lot. Her dad is an asshole and when he implies he doesn't want to see her again, he means it. 

 

Mitch spends the entire breakfast just chatting with Abby, strongly reassuring her that he'll help her with whatever she needs - everything from letting her sleep at their house to paying her and her girlfriend the best direct flight to Paris. She's staying at the billet family of his girlfriend now but no matter how much Abby says they're fine with her being there, Mitch still thinks she should be at theirs because he is direct family. 

 

He's so shocked and angry and zoned out all at the same time that he isn't even fully listening to Auston. He's babbling about something but he isn't listening to him; it's surely not as important as Abby's current situation. 

 

His morning (or forenoon already) gets even worse and shittier when he goes upstairs to change from pyjama pants to normal underwear and sweats. Because he can hear Auston talking to someone in one of the guests rooms (which is used more like storage anyway) which wouldn't be a bad thing, he has many friends and other people to talk with, but even though he isn't eavesdropping, he catches something out of the conversation. 

 

“Don't forget to not to say anything to anybody, okay?”

 

A second of silence, the person on the other line obviously responding but Mitch can't hear it. 

 

“Yeah, I know you wouldn't spill it. It's just that you seem to be too excited about us. And you should understand me being very careful with this. I can't risk Mitch somehow finding out.”

 

And well… Mitch has officially had enough. He leaves the hall before Auston steps out of the room and from that, Mitch's day goes even more downhill. He zones out until their evening home game, at one point even messaging any friend who isn't a Leaf (who turns out to be Matt Martin) asking if this could mean Auston is cheating on him or slept once with somebody and now is trying to sweep away all the evidence about it. (He thinks Auston sounded too excited to be afraid about the thing being outed, though.) 

 

Matt isn't that aggressively protective anymore, so he just says that Mitch is surely just taking this wrong because there's no way Auston would cheat on him because “ _ Auston is too crazy about you _ ”. 

 

But. 

 

He points out that Mitch should be careful and watching the clues, not necessarily to find out about  _ cheating,  _ but about whatever Auston is being weird about. 

 

He knows that he sucks tonight during the game and even though they win easily, Mitch still isn't in mood. He even turns down celebrative sex and Auston doesn't even push him to that (after one terrible experience when they got drunk years ago, they specified a strong rule about having sex only when it doesn’t need one persuading other one). Auston sighs sadly, asking Mitch what is wrong and now Mitch feels like shit for ruining Auston’s good mood after the game. 

 

… … …

 

A few days later, Mitch is woken up by something shining into his face. He opens his eyes to find out that he had moved to snuggle against Auston’s arm who is sitting against the headboard and doing something on his laptop in his lap. 

 

The blue light (why the heck you don't have a night filter software, Matthews) is so hurting him that he has to blink a few times and flip over to escape that strong brightness. 

 

“What even you're doing?” he mumbles because it's deep dark so it must be the middle of the night. 

 

“I was asked to write some article for the NHLPA with a template they gave me. I forgot that tomorrow is the deadline,” he explains and he sounds too loud, obviously awake for some time already. 

 

Mitch just hums an agreement and goes back to sleep. 

 

The next time he wakes up, it's much later. Looking at the way sunlight is making its way between the curtains, it might be around 8am. 

 

Auston is gone. But he left his mostly shut laptop behind. 

 

Mitch remembers their short conversation from the night and his guts squeeze a little out of sheer anxiety and paranoia. 

 

They don't sneak in their phones or other devices unless allowed, but. 

 

_ But.  _

 

Mitch doesn't really believe Auston. He feels kind of guilty for it, but his suspicious call is still very fresh in Mitch’s mind. 

 

He is regretting it the second he moves closer to the laptop but yeah - he's looking at the history of opened programs and then the history of all three different browsers he has. He finds literally nothing that can lead him to something and not even proving that Auston was telling the truth. The history of the browsers is cleared completely all the way to the last two weeks.

 

With a frustrated groan he sets the laptop to the same position it was and then falls back on the bed dramatically, questioning his current life, especially how did he end up in this situation - not trusting his boyfriend completely.

 

* * *

  
  


Auston almost loses his shit when Mitch starts moving dangerously close to him, even leaning against him in way that he could  _ see the screen  _ if he opened his eyes. So he quickly clicks on the NHLPA website and it's really close because Mitch wakes up. 

 

Fortunately, the screen light obviously makes his eyes hurt, so he flips over. Auston internally sighs out of relief. He's almost done with his current work so it would be real bad luck if Mitch somehow made it put the laptop away. 

 

Of course he's not doing stuff for NHLPA now. Well, he  _ has  _ to, but the deadline is next week. And he wouldn't write it during night anyway. Auston is glad that Mitch was too sleepy to point it out. 

 

For the past few hours, he's been choosing what photos to print for that proposal setting. The first thing was to download all their together photos from cloud on Auston’s phone and now, the second one, to sort them and select the final ones. Which is very hard because not only they have hundreds of photos but they're also all so cute and good and Auston would print all of them if that was possible. 

 

Their Bye Week is near so Auston told himself to finish this work tonight. The ring is already being made right now so while waiting for it, he wants to be productive and plan every single detail so everything is perfect - or as perfect as a disaster like him can master up. 

 

He can already feel himself getting occupied by the proposal more than by anything besides hockey in the last maybe two years. 

 

… … … 

 

During their short road trip across the east coast, one of the twins quietly says to Auston at breakfast “I got the email - your ring is ready.” The only way he knows it's Val is because of the context. 

 

Because yeah, the official buyer of the ring is Val because Auston is paranoid and doesn't want his name to be listed on this kind of order (he's a millionaire celebrity, for fuck's sake, many people try to creep on him) and Val is thinking about proposing to Sage soon too, so he was more than happy to be next to Auston when he was designing the ring - wanted to get the overview and maybe an idea about his own ring. 

 

“Okay. We will get it as soon as possible,” Auston answers and Val simply nods. 

 

“Heeeey, what secrets are you talking about?” Quentin yells as he jumps to sit next to them. 

 

Val growls something in French at him and the only thing Auston can understand is ‘idiot’. Whatever it was, Quentin looks at Auston and makes a motion of zip closing on his mouth, implying he's going to stay silent. 

 

_ So  _ weird these Europeans. 

 

…  … … 

“Do you know what to say?”

 

“ _ Yes,  _ that it's  _ my  _ order and to place it in the ring box right away,” Val says and it's not even meant ironically, he doesn't even roll his eyes. If Auston wasn't so stressed out, he would appreciate how seriously has been Val taking Auston’s acts to keep his relationship private and safe. 

 

“Yeah… okay,” Auston inhales to get out of the already parked car, but he stays exactly where he was. 

 

“Dude, what's wrong?”

 

“What if it doesn't look good? What if it was too difficult for the gem workers?”

 

“You paid them more than they asked for, of course they did their best to make it look like you want. Even I would try to make the ring for that five-digit number.”

 

“Like you're not getting paid millions for playing hockey and another hundreds of thousands for the fashion brand thing you're doing.”

 

“Like you didn't consider your own fashion brand thing yourself.”

 

“Ew, I grew out of it. Maybe when I retire and I'll be bored. I'm  _ adult _ now, I don't have time for fashion.”

 

“Yeah you're adult and you're proposing to the love of your life after  _ seven  _ years of dating.  _ This  _ one is kind of immature, Matthews.”

 

“Better late than never, right?” Auston smirks and Val smiles back. 

 

“Can we go now?” he asks, probably waited until this moment - to see Auston calmed down. 

 

“Yep, let's go.”

 

So they finally get out of Auston’s car and walk those few metres towards the kind of hidden passage with only fancy stores. 

 

“By the way, what did you tell Mitch about where you went?”

 

“Told him I was going to go shopping with Freddie and then bring him leftovers from our lunch at sushi bar.”

 

“Didn't he want to go with you?”

 

“We went to buy some new suits and shirts for Mitch when we were in NYC, so he's got enough of shopping for now.”

 

“Oh okay. Just making sure because last days he seems… off?”

 

Auston sighs, “Yeah, I've noticed that too. He isn't in very good headset, his bad season started it all. Just a few more days and I'm sure I can make his winter better - great news in personal life  _ can  _ improve work life and then the mood overall.”

 

“Mhm, I think you're right. He really deserves this.”

 

Auston just nods at that, not because he would be annoyed but just fully knowingly - just letting it all set in. 

 

When they enter the jewelry store, Auston feels blinded. It's clear day with no clouds or snowing so the sun is shining right through the huge windows and reflecting all the jewelry in the showcases. When he gets used to it and walks further into the store, he realizes the beauty of all the ridiculously expensive jewelry and he himself would probably wear some of the watches or chains but he doesn't care about anything else than his ring,  _ Mitch's  _ ring. 

 

Val only introduces himself and the lady behind the counter immediately knows what it means for her. She quickly calls somewhere and after not long, a younger man comes out of some back door with a box that looks like it's for watch. Auston notices the Leafs logo at the end of the man's silver chain so he's not surprised when he gasps a quiet “Matthews and Chavalier are here.” The woman behind the counter is fast to hush him with a steel cold look. He's clearly not as professional as she is yet. 

 

The woman opens the box in front of them and only there lays the ring box which she opens to reveal the ring itself. 

 

“Here we have it. Is it the way you imagined, Mr. Chavalier?”

 

Both of them look at it closely but it's so detailed that Val carefully takes it out for them two to see it better. 

 

Auston is absolutely amazed. The ring looks even more detailed than he expected to. Which is: the band itself is made out of black tourmaline (because Auston thinks black suits Mitch even though he's not wearing black often) and it doesn't have any gem necessary  _ on  _ it (because Auston doesn't want it to catch cloth if Mitch decides to wear it more often, therefore under hoodies and such). Instead, the band is thick enough to have something carved into it without the ring falling apart. It's like this to have normal blue sapphire inserted on the entire circuit of the ring - it looks like the ring has a thick stripe. In that sapphire part, there is a pattern also made of the black tourmaline - it's outlines of upper half part of the Toronto leaf (without the name of the team of course, that would be too difficult), repeating all over the ring. Overall, it has a nice contrast and even though it looks fancy, it doesn't necessarily look like an engagement ring. It's also flat enough to be considered sporty. 

 

“Oh yeah, of course. It's perfect,” Val reassures with a smile and with that, the visit is officially over, everything completed with one signature of Val's. 

 

She puts the ring back in the box and Auston can't wait to put it on Mitch's finger. 

 

“Dude, you've done such a good job. It's perfect. Mitch will  _ absolutely  _ love it,” Val fucking shines and shakes with Auston’s shoulders friendly. 

 

“Yeah I think so too.”

 

They stay silent until they get back into the car. 

 

He hears Val's stomach grumble. “Sushi?” Auston asks.

 

“Sushi,” he agrees. 

 

* * *

 

Mitch officially hates his stomach. Like the inner organ. Because anytime he's sick, it goes through his stomach (or alternatively his bowels) and today is no different. He doesn't know what caused this because he ate nothing suspicious last night or not even in the morning and him feeling like shit graduated since he wake up through the morning skate until the current point when his head hurts and he goes to throw up every half an hour. 

 

_ Must be a virus _ , he thinks and it's the only reasonable explanation as Brownie's kids had that virus two weeks ago and of all the Leafs, besides Brownie, Mitch spends the most time with those ginger angels. 

 

But at the same time, he thinks that also the comeback of his anxiety is having something to do with this because even when he's feeling mentally worse, he's also feeling it through his stomach being squeezed. 

 

Which sucks most is that they don't have any meds for this kind of illness or Mitch just simply can't find them when he searches through the drawers and cabinets. So, naturally, he calls Auston when he still has enough energy to speak to buy some new meds on the way home. Yes, normal millionaire would get the meds by some overpaid service but they are adults now so they act like a fully functioning family. 

 

The problem with Auston is that he's not picking up which is weird as by actually calling him you’re the most probable to get an answer soon. Mitch tries to call a few more times but then, when he even considers that service, his longest vomiting session starts. It leaves him so tired and exhausted that he almost falls asleep on the bathroom floor. He only manages to message Auston a few words about his need for meds. 

 

After literal hours of swings between peace and stomach aches, Auston still doesn't answer or call back. And Mitch might be a bit out of it right now but he's sure that normal clothes shopping and then lunch, both in downtown, doesn't take  _ this  _ long. Mitch has an irrational (or maybe not as much) feeling that something is not the way Auston told him in the morning when they came back from the skate and he was already getting ready to pick Freddie up. 

 

It feels like after an eternity but Mitch thinks he hears the front door shut. It might be also him hallucinating - he's already dozing on the floor. 

 

“Mitchy! Here you a- oh my god, are you okay?”

 

And yeah, Auston is here now, already down on his knees next to him, helping him to at least sit up. But Mitch's head is spinning too much for that. Auston obviously notices it too because he sits behind him, letting Mitch to lean his back against his chest. 

 

His body is fucking happy about it, about Auston’s warmth, but his brain goes:

 

“You didn't get me any meds, did you?” and even to Mitch's ears it sounds snappy. 

 

“Uh, uhm no I didn't,” Auston stutters, “How was I supposed to know?”

 

“Check your goddamn phone for fuck's sake. I called you like a handful times,” and Mitch is definitely angry now. He can feel Auston try to get his phone out of his pants but he moves away from him quickly. He's probably going to be sick again. 

 

“Mitchy, baby, I'm  _ so  _ sorry. I was just- having a good time and I didn't even look at my phone. I was too busy.”

 

_ Yeah, too busy with having a date or even worse with some woman,  _ his brain implies immediately but Mitch is not even paying enough attention to that because he's bending over the toilet and throwing up again. Auston is besides him all the time, sweet comforting words and pats but Mitch is not listening. 

 

When their eyes connect, Mitch registers how worried Auston looks when he says “Let's go, I'm gonna put you in bed, make you some tea and then run to get your-” 

 

“I don't need your help. Just call the coach I'm probably not playing tonight. ”

 

“Yes Mitchell, you do. And  _ no _ , you are  _ definitely  _ not playing.”

 

If Mitch wasn't so physically weak at this moment, he would protest because he's still angry and still wants to destroy Boston tonight but he's almost falling asleep again so he just lets Auston actually carry him to the bed. He's getting a bucket, some herbal tea and then eventually even the long wanted meds in almost no time after that. 

 

His virus lasts for full five days. Mitch can't even remember how many times he's told Auston to back off because he's going to catch this too. But he hasn't been caring at all. He's so  _ sweet  _ and protective and caring to him that he almost wishes he was sick more often. Of course he is caring all the time but never this much. During these five days, Auston spoils him so much that it even helps him to not to think about Auston  _ maybe  _ cheating on him or lying to him about something. 

 

… … … 

 

It's three days before the Bye Week and Mitch is packing his suitcase. Fortunately, he doesn't need a big one because him and Auston are going to the Caymans so he needs only lightweight clothes. Honestly, he kind of hopes that this vacation can solve whatever tension they have between each other. He doesn't really want to confront Auston because he still feels a bit paranoid (Auston just  _ wouldn't  _ cheat on him, right?) but there's probably still something else that is bugging Auston and Mitch wants to know what so they can talk about it and help each other. A week without hockey and pressure from media should help with that.

 

Mitch also definitely doesn't want to be completely lazy on the vacation. He wants to explore the waters, even plans to go scuba diving (he does have a certificate for that if anyone is asking) so that's where he's now: in the middle of looking for his fins. He could rent some on the beach but why when he is used to his bought ones which fit him perfectly. He hasn't seen them since summer so they're probably thrown somewhere at the bottom of the summer part of his wardrobe. 

 

After few minutes of searching he still can't find them so he moves to the same part but of Auston’s wardrobe - maybe they had just put them there accidentally. 

 

He does find his fins there but next and behind them he also finds a weird… dark purple, almost black? box. And it's partly opened and it somehow gets Mitch's attention. He looks inside of it and he knows that his eyebrows are in his hair now because he sees actual black and red lingerie. And no, this is a thing they two have  _ never  _ been into and the underwear is definitely for a small slim woman so… Mitch feels like he's going to have a heart attack. 

 

What  _ even  _ does  _ this  _ mean? 

 

Mitch of course knows what this means - it means that he's been right all the time about Auston having a lover. A woman. And this is definitely a gift for her. 

 

He's probably already pale from shock and fear but then he sees a small ring box and he's totally not overreacting when he says that he can't breathe properly from that moment. Suddenly the entire big box feels like something on fire - he can't even touch it anymore. Out of disgust, maybe, but probably out of the terrible anxious feeling. 

 

_ This can't be true, no, it can't,  _ he tells himself all over again but the other part of his mind always implies  _ But it obviously is.  _

 

The small box is not enough to be for a necklace or a set of earrings so Mitch's conclusion is that it's a ring, possibly engagement ring and that therefore Auston is mad and is living a secret life. Probably an older one but he's got uncareful. 

 

Maybe Mitch is insane himself. 

 

He still thought he was good enough for Auston. Certainly not perfect or everything what he deserved but still good enough to make Auston still want him around. But he was mistaken. This new reality hit him very hard and he's not sure how to recover from that. Start breathing again, that's a good start. 

 

He's so conflicted that he doesn't even know if he should be angry at Auston or feeling pitiful about himself. He screams into the closest clothes a few times and opens the bedroom window to take deep breaths of the cold fresh January air. It helps a bit but he's also very red from the swings of feelings and from the cold and the previous lack of oxygen at the same time and it makes his head spin. 

 

He's actually proud of himself for making this huge anxiety attack at least half better. He grabs his phone to answer some of the texts his friends have sent him - he does this only to do normal things that can help him to calm down. And he was right; by the times he's done typing his heartbeat has gotten moderate enough that he can't feel his heart hammering at the breastbone anymore. He's still shocked, though. But at the same time, he knows that he can't go to the Caymans alone with Auston without knowing the truth. 

 

So he grabs the entire box, with the smaller box in the other hand and goes downstairs. 

 

He doesn’t even know what exactly he's going to do but he  _ has to do  _ something.

 

* * *

  
  


Auston’s several weeks of work fall apart in front of him like a house of cards. He completely freezes, half chewed food still in his mouth. Mitch is in front of him in the living room with Patty's box and  _ Auston’s engagement ring  _ in his hands. 

 

He thought he has hidden it well enough. Obviously, no such luck. 

 

“Auston. What are these?” and well, Auston is fucked because Mitch sounds angry. The bad way of angry because he isn't raising his voice. A usual angry Mitch is yelling and storming and then getting calm as rapidly quick as he started. 

 

Auston swallows and says “I'm- I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to find out.”

 

“Find out what exactly, Matthews?!” Mitch errupts and slams everything on the floor. Auston eyes the ring box immediately, feeling relieved that it didn’t break. “That you've been fucking lying to me for weeks?”

 

“Mitch I swear I planned on telling you just before the Bye Week.”

 

Mitch inhales sharply, like he's hurt. They're quite far away from each other but he can see Mitch's eyes going watery. 

 

“Why then?” Jesus, Mitch's voice is trembling. “To ruin my mood for the vacation?”

 

And… what? “Ruin? Mitch I thought-” Auston has to take a breath himself, he's in complete confusion. “I thought you would be happy to have this.”

 

Mitch squeezes his eyes shut and breathes shaky. He's in so much discomfort and currently Auston has no idea how to solve this. But he wants nothing more than this right now.

 

“How can I be happy to hear the love of my life is breaking up with me?” Mitch eventually says, very quietly, still not looking at Auston. 

 

Auston has to blink a few times to process what he just heard. Because he definitely heard it wrong. 

 

“Break up? What are you talking about?” he asks carefully because he doesn't understand anything that is happening right now. 

 

“Well you've clearly found somebody else to replace me so it would make sense if you even wanted to move out,” Mitch explains and even though he's not stuttering anymore he's still looking anywhere but at Auston and still squeezing his own elbow. 

 

“Wha- Mitch I- how even can you say something like that. I don't want and won't will want anybody else.”

 

This makes Mitch look up. “So you're not cheating on me??”

 

Auston finds the idea of this so ridiculous that he has to huff out a laugh. “Of course not babe, what the fuck. What did you make think this?”

 

Mitch's eyes roam the room as he bites at his lip, sorting his own thoughts. 

 

When he starts, his voice is soft quiet and slow, like he's being careful. 

 

“You've been avoiding me ever since Christmas. At first I just thought you needed a break from me again but I simultaneously found it weird because I know I haven't been my energetic talkative self all the season. Even when I tried to talk to our  _ friends  _ about you they just kept pushing it off. Also the twins have been acting all weird. And Aus I know you're a bad liar so I didn't even believe you that NHLPA article. But I didn't know what was really happening. But since you talked with somebody over the phone about keeping something a secret from me, I- I just thought you were cheating on me. It was gradual process especially because you just kept  _ giving  _ me reasons to think so. It reached the peak when I found this box. That's when I went 100% sure and I couldn't just… handle being lied to all the time. I have to know what is this all about, Auston.”

 

Mitch rants for way longer than Auston thought he would be able to in this condition - he's full of surprises today. Not only the way he talks but  _ what  _ he talks about. They haven't even finished this conversation yet and Auston already doesn't know how to express how much is he sorry. 

 

“All this time it's just been me planning to propose to you. And-” 

 

“To me?!” Mitch interrupts, eyes wide. 

 

“I, well.  _ Of course  _ you, who else?”

 

“Like I said I thought you were cheating on me and living a secret life behind my back. Almost only because of this,” Mitch points to the box just laying on the floor. 

 

“That's… oh gosh this sounds silly. I- when I was looking for a place to hide the engagement ring, I found this box laying exactly where you found it. I asked Patty and it's a long forgotten gift for Christina he left behind after they moved out. I thought it was deep enough in the wardrobe and looked innocent enough to be a safe hiding place for the ring.”

 

“But I found it.”

 

“But you found it, yeah.”

 

“And it caused me another anxiety attack.  _ Another  _ one of the many in the last few weeks.”

 

“I'm so sorry. I didn't realize I was doing this. I just wanted to finally propose to you and get engaged with you with the ring and setting you deserve,” Auston explains simply. 

 

Mitch shrugs briefly and it looks so self-pitying that it makes Auston get closer to him for the first time. “I guess we both suck at this adult stuff.”

 

“Not that much,” Auston suggests and finally hugs Mitch. “We just forgot to watch each other's behavior again. Or, okay, fair, it was mostly me not watching yours.”

 

“I'm still so confused,” Mitch admits and buries himself into Auston’s chest. Auston thinks he’s crying very briefly and quietly. 

 

“Let's better sit. We can talk about everything concerning you,” Auston leads Mitch back to the couch and he goes willingly. 

 

“Who was that woman you talked with when you ran away from breakfast?” Mitch asks when they're settled, he curled against Auston’s side. 

 

“With Krista. It was her birthday and I went upstairs to congratulate her. I told you that, though,” Auston explains, already curious how did Mitch not register that. 

 

“Oh. I'm- that’s.. I’m sorry. I wasn't listening to you that morning. Like, at all. Abby texted me out of secret emergency - her parents kicked her out because they found out she is gay and I was trying to convince her to move to our house until everything settles down but she preferred to stay at her girlfriend's.”

 

This Auston did not expect. “Oh wow. How is the situation now?”

 

“They two are moving to France when the semester ends.”

 

“Does this mean I have to break up with her?” Auston half jokes. 

 

“Yeah, better with her than with me, please,” Mitch jokes back with a small smile and Auston feels a sudden relief. If Mitch is joking about himself this way, it means everything is going to be alright. 

 

They're not done talking yet, though. “I also talked about my engagement plan to Krista because at that point I was still not sure about some details. Obviously, she got really excited when I told her I was planning to propose, so I warned her not to give you any hints. This is probably what you heard.”

 

Mitch face palms. “I'm such an idiot, oh my god.”

 

“Hey, no, you're not,” Auston hurries to say and removes Mitch's hand from his forehead, kissing him there. “You also had problems to worry about, more serious ones than me.”

 

“Okay, maybe you're right,” Mitch says quietly and Auston doesn't say anything because it's obvious he's thinking. 

 

“You weren't writing an article for NHLPA in the middle of the night, were you?”

 

Auston laughs, “Of course not. I wrote it eventually but I definitely wouldn't refuse my sleep to do that.”

 

“What-” Mitch starts but Auston interrupts him immediately. 

 

“I won't tell you what I was actually doing. It's a part of the plan. And I might still use it. Or I might not. I don't want you to know this,” Auston says with a smile and at this point he doesn't even care if his perfect plan A gets forgotten. 

 

“But I already ruined it. The romantic bliss, the surprise.” Mitch sounds sad like he's regretting it. 

 

“I'd rather have my surprise ruined than you thinking I was cheating on you for one more day longer,” Auston says honestly. It's worth it because Mitch gives him his Mitch Marner trademarked smile. Which is, not so surprisingly, the best thing in the world for Auston. He just loves him so much and the idea of making feel Mitch anxious any longer makes him sick.

 

“So what now?” Mitch speaks up after few minutes of cuddling. 

 

“Well, I definitely don't want to propose to you now. I mean- you are the sweetest most perfect and most beautiful person in the universe and I think you deserve way more than just me giving you a ring you've already seen, after a fight about something that almost got us break up.”

 

“I haven't seen the ring, just so you know.”

 

“Oh… well, I should've realized that because if you saw it you definitely wouldn't think it was for a woman. But anyway: I'm happy you didn't because now the engagement isn't as ruined as we thought.”

 

“Uhm, yeah, I don't think I could handle it right now,” Mitch has something small in his voice that makes Auston take this more seriously. “My head is still spinning about what just happened and I kind of need to recover from my demons torturing me.”

 

_ The January really fucked up him more than I thought,  _ Auston thinks, his heart hurting suddenly. 

 

“Of course Mitchy, whatever you need. It's also my fault - I should've noticed that something is wrong. Now everything that matters is to put you back in shape, mental  _ and  _ hockey wise. We need you to help us to the best possible place in the conference. Engagement can wait. Your health is more important.”

 

And because Mitch knows how amazing he is at hockey, he doesn't take this as a sign of Auston feeling like he needs improvement. He simply nods. “I know I can’t win the Art Ross again but I definitely want to be a key player in getting us up the standings.”

 

“ _ That's  _ what I love to hear.”

 

They're both smiling like idiots but they're idiots who love each other while still being a little immature and not completely skillful in adult business yet. 

 

That's okay, though, because they're going to get there eventually. 

 

_ Together.  _


	3. Chapter 3

_ The season didn’t go the way they imagined at the end of January.  _

 

_ Auston dislocated his shoulder again and it got so serious that when it didn’t seem to heal properly, he decided to travel to Switzerland to get ready for the playoffs there. European nature medicine did wonders but when he came back at the end of March, there wasn’t much hope for the team to be actually better. In a month and a half, the Leafs had dropped to the second Wild Card place despite the heroic effort of those players who had experienced even worse team slumps than this one. But it still wasn’t enough to deal with loss of Freddie whose performance understandably went downhill after he found out his freshly-married wife got cancer. Actually, the team tried so hard to win over the bad luck and the media pressure that Mitch overworked himself which lead into him not being careful enough during a game against the Ducks and getting a concussion (already the third one of his career, though by far not as serious as the first one).  _

 

_ In other words, the late winter and early spring of 2026 sucked for the Leafs. Eventually, they got swiped out of the playoffs in the first round. Nobody on the team was very surprised, they were actually happy to finally end this terrible season - to be finally able to rest and clear their minds.  _

 

_ The second half of April brings much better energy. Thanks to risky but successful surgeries, Freddie’s wife is almost certainly going to be fine for now, though she will need to be under check of doctors maybe for the rest of her life. (The entire team realizes that they’d never seen Freddie as happy as when he told them about the tumors being gone.) Also, JT signed another contract with the team, even when it meant that his salary had to decrease in favor of younger players. And finally, Abby figured her stuff out and now she’s a spokeswoman for a French branch of an originally Canadian bio-food company. Mitch is so proud of her. _

 

_ Actually, Abby gave Mitch and Auston a really good idea of how to make all the bad vibes from the season vanish. Only a week after the season ended they flew to Paris to see her and her girlfriend and her family (and Paris, of course, but they’d been there before so it’s not that interesting anymore, they’re more looking forward to Athens, Istanbul and Saint Petersburg) and then went to see the beauties of southern France and its villages. After that they went to Venice where Auston almost proposed to Mitch at the stairs to a beautiful basilica (he’d been carrying the ring with himself anywhere because what if they randomly get into a situation which would be ideal for the proposal?) but he thought Venice still isn’t the most romantic and beautiful place they’re going to visit during their trip around the Europe.  _

 

_ When Auston had found out during their planning of this trip that some turquoise lakes that are often on HD wallpapers are real and that they’re all in the same national park which is across the Adriatic Sea, which is only a 190 mile route from Venice, he just had to persuade Mitch into going there, too. Mitch had agreed easily when he saw the photos. Auston had of course heard about a small European country named Croatia before (they’re incredibly good at soccer), but not about their nature beauty which is the Plitvice Lakes National Park.  _

 

* * *

 

In Venice, it was hot. Like, incredibly hot for April. Yes, global warming is affecting the Europe more than the North America and Europe had always been warmer even before it anyway, but even Auston couldn’t stand the feeling of the water in the canals all around them being the home of small kelps that formed there only because the water was too warm and too slow. In other words, the city was beautiful and traditional Italian food is definitely a thing he wants to eat even in Toronto from now on, but it stinked. Literally. It just didn’t give Auston the vibes it needed to give him for him to propose to Mitch there. Plus, proposing in Venice would be the most cliche decision of this trip. 

 

And he’s very glad that he decided to wait with the proposal because it takes him literal four minutes to fall in love with the lakes. They’re very lucky to have clear sunny weather today because it makes the water even more beautiful. The lakes are very deep, even the small ones, and some of them are next to literal cliffs which forms waterfalls so they two barely take their phones out to take some photos - the fear of losing the phone or falling into the water himself is too strong. The national park is so beautiful that Auston feels like he could stop Mitch literally anywhere to finally take the ring out. The problem is that most of the touristic route consists of quite narrow wooden bridges without railing that are just above water. If Auston went down on one knee there, it would definitely annoy other tourists so he better waits. 

 

“Okay, I’m pretty much starving. Let’s sit down somewhere and eat,” Mitch says at some point and Auston agrees but there are no benches to be seen now. So they walk a bit more and when the path they’re following starts to get wider and then turns to another direction, they decide to follow it too. Mitch gasps when he sees where they got.

 

“It’s the big waterfall!” and runs all the way to it, like a kid. Like there aren’t people around. There are few big rocks in front of the  _ huge _ waterfall and Mitch climbs (more like jumps) on the biggest one of them. He then looks behind himself, sees how much of a good view he has.

 

“Come on, Matts! I want a photo like this. Before some children come here and want to be up here, too.”

 

“There is a child on the rock already,” Auston murmurs with a shake of his head but he’s still already taking his phone out. 

 

“What did you say?”

 

“Nothing!” Auston shouts back because they’re quite away from each other now. 

 

Mitch is satisfied after a few shots and then, after he takes some photos of the waterfall alone, declares he’s ready to eat.

 

There are no benches around either, but there’s a stone wall they sit on. Other tourists are sitting either on it too or on the smaller rocks around so they don’t feel like hooligans. 

 

Mitch was obviously very hungry because he’s quiet for maybe full ten minutes. During which Auston doesn’t even eat that much because he’s busy thinking about if he should propose right now or next to a small cave he saw in front of them back at the pathway they come from to here. But this is the highest waterfall in the entire park and they’re finally sitting so they can make this longer than they could if he decided to do it on some pathway.

 

It takes Auston a bit longer than is necessary to get the ring, which is hidden secretly deep in the backpack, out. He can see Mitch looking at him suspiciously while still chewing. Auston kind of fools him when he takes out a sandwich (but with the box with the ring under that). No many people would notice that but Mitch looks disappointed and that’s how Auston is certain that he’s secretly hoping for this. 

 

“Mitchy?” Auston speaks up softly as he puts his food on the wall next to him and slides to the ground on one knee in front of Mitch. The skin on his bare knee already hurts from it digging into small stones but he’ll live. Mitch feels like he has stopped breathing but he’s quick to swallow and put his lunch away.

 

Auston raises the box up and opens it. 

 

“I would-” he starts but he’s stopped. Because what happens? His backpack which he put on top of the wall falls down. But not next to him, rather to the opposite direction - directly into water. 

 

Auston closes his eyes and inhales deeply, swearing to himself about how damn unlucky he is. And Mitch is laughing out loud, the little vicious shit. Auston starts laughing after a few seconds too, not because he finds it funny but because the sound of Mitch’s laugh feels like it was made by angels. 

 

_ It is definitely better to listen to that than have a perfect proposal,  _ he thinks. 

**Author's Note:**

> (this is the exact rock Mitch was standing on and the exact same scenery the last scene is happening in: https://goo.gl/maps/JUSSopivq8F2) (seriously, go google the Plitvice Lakes. the photos don’t even look real but they are, I swear)
> 
> anyway, thank you for making it this far. I really hope you enjoyed this and even if not so much, that’s okay. just so you know you can tell me about your both positive and negative thoughts.
> 
> my first language isn’t English so if something sounds weird it’s most certainly because of that. 
> 
> this is also definitely going to be a series because I’ve had this universe in my head since literal January 2017. actually, the idea of the twins was in my head WAY sooner than this plot itself. the parts of the series definitely won’t be added in chronological order but I’ll always make sure you don’t get confused. 
> 
> also, the working title for this was “Matthews sacks up” but I think that then my writing went really far away from that. oh and the last thing if you want to have a better image of Mitch’s and Auston’s house: I imagine it being more or less identical to Michael’s house in GTA 5, even the interior


End file.
